We Are Responsible For Our Choices

Ever had someone say ‘he made me do it’? Or, ‘I only did that because she…..’ Some of us make a habit of placing blame for our actions or lack thereof on other people.  It’s never our fault that something happened.  The car didn’t get repossessed because we didn’t pay the bill; it was the dealership’s fault for not giving us more time.  It wasn’t our fault we didn’t get the job when we weren’t prepared for the interview; the supervisor should have been more lenient and given us that job because we’d been there so long.   It’s not our fault we didn’t have the money to replace that tire on our car, even though we just bought a new cell phone.  Each of these situations could be avoided by making better choices on the front end.  

We have to get into the habit of self-reflection so we identify the areas of our lives that need work.  Sometimes people do have it in for us, but many times we sabotage ourselves and then expect God to fix it.  Instead of us, changing the way we operate and following God’s Word, we want a miraculous intervention.  God will miraculously intervene on occasion when we are following His Word completely or when He is making a point.  He is, after all God, He can do what He wants to do, but He will not contradict His own nature.  He is not a man who will lie (Numbers 23:19).

None of us are perfect and there are always areas where we can improve.  For me, I know an area is my health, related to exercise and eating properly.  I fully recognize that I don’t always eat right and exercise the way I should.  So, I can’t blame my lack of doing those things on the fact that I work long hours.  I mean, I could, but it wouldn’t be honest.  I could get out of bed and exercise in the morning, if I chose to do so.  I could set aside time to cook so I’m eating a healthy well-balanced meal each day, but it would take work.  It’s way more convenient to order a meal or grab something already prepared.  It’s just not necessarily healthy to do so. 

The fact is that I like chocolate and desserts, to my detriment sometimes; and I don’t like to exercise.  Both of these facts helped lead to my current reality….a bit overweight.  With that said, I also have the ability to change the narrative.  My choices are my own.  God gave us free will and I have the ability to make some wise choices or not.  I am responsible for them – each one.  That means I’m also responsible for the consequences of those choices.  I don’t get to choose the consequences, but they lay at my feet.  

I’m not taking God out of this by any means.  While I’m responsible for my choices, I clearly need Him to help me execute when my choices line up with His Word.  If I didn’t need His help, I would take care of everything myself.  Since we know we can’t do that, we have to lean on Him for guidance and wisdom.  If we choose not to ask Him or seek Him, we will make the choices on our own and we are not good decision makers absent the Lord.  

As you look at your life and areas needing change, own the mistakes you made that contributed to the results you’re getting.  Once you do that, you can seek God’s grace and mercy and His wisdom to provide a solution out of it.  I’m not saying the solution will be easy.  It may be hard and painful, but you’ll be better off in the long run following His guidance than any other.  Remember, we are responsible for our choices and actions, but if we seek God first, He’ll direct our path and if we seek Him in the midst, He will provide us a way to freedom.